Borrowed Hearts
by klarolineepiclove
Summary: It was one little white lie. But now she was playing fiancee to a man who didn't know her name, and his outrageous family weren't making it easy for her to come clean. And then there was his annoyingly handsome younger brother whose dimples and brash were making it much more difficult for her to turn away. AU/AH Klaroline, alluded Carlijah. An entertaining tale of miscommunication.
1. Chapter 1

**Borrowed Hearts**

**A.N. Hello again, friends! So if any of you follow me on Tumblr, then you know I've been teasing this story for awhile. This was originally going to be my next project after Rescue Me before Fallen took root, but since I have Fallen plotted out, I thought I'd throw this one out and see what you all think! **

**I would like to point out that this is a Klaroline story, but Carlijah is very much a fun little crack!ship that I entertain far too often. So while there isn't any Klaroline in this first introductory chapter, I hope you can still read and enjoy until they finally meet.**

**Thanks a million to Becky, Leah, and Miranda for their constant help and advice on this one, and to Leah, Mel, and Nicole over on Tumblr who all made incredible covers for this story.**

**As always, I hope you enjoy!**

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You never really think your life is going to become one of those awful movies that most people cringe at. You don't wake up one morning and go "Let's make a mockery of everything I've worked so hard for by telling some stupid white lie that's going to completely spiral out of control." No, no one ever thinks this is actually going to happen to them.

But that was the very thing that happened to Caroline Forbes.

The first thing you need to know about Caroline is that she was a woman in love. That crazy out-of-your-mind kind of love that had you planning out your future and thinking about where you would retire when you're old and gray. The kind of love that you just kind of knew, right away, that it was going to be epic.

The other thing you need to know about Caroline?

The man that she's so head over heels in love with…has absolutely no idea who she is.

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"There you go. Can I assist you with anything else today?"

Caroline repeated the mantra that had been drilled into her head since she started this job at KLC Banking six years ago, a perfect customer service smile spread across her face. She watched as the young red headed woman barely acknowledged her with a glace, shoving her envelope full of cash into her handbag as she twirled around on her heel, thumbs flying away at the keyboard of her phone.

She sighed, drumming her fingertips on the counter before she turned, a frown on her face. "Tell me I wasn't that rude at 18."

From her place at the drive through window, Bonnie Bennett laughed, her long dark ponytail swinging around her shoulders as she shook her head. "You were worse," she said, glancing over her shoulder to throw her a smile. "The ultimate Mean Girl. But you've toned down since then. We don't hold it against you."

Caroline Forbes and Bonnie Bennett had been best friends since kindergarten. They'd developed a strong kinship when Nathan Fell dipped both their pigtails in Elmer's Glue during Arts and Crafts before throwing a handful of uncooked macaroni over their heads, proudly proclaiming that they both now had noodles for brains.

They didn't hold it against him. He was a stupid boy, with stupid cooties and stupid ideas. They didn't hold it against him at all.

They certainly didn't hold it against him as they cornered him on the playground the next day and used the razor Caroline had swiped from her mom's shower to wipe his high raising eyebrows off his head while he cried like a little girl.

No, Bonnie and Caroline were classier than that.

Well, regardless, a life long friendship was born after that. They followed each other through elementary school, middle school, the dreaded four years of high school, and even college, where they rented out a shabby little house for their adventure into higher learning.

Now here they were, in the heart of Chicago. Sure, maybe Bonnie wasn't a surgeon yet. And no, Caroline wasn't exactly a world renowned fashion designer. They were both working their way towards the lives they wanted, and they realized that working at KLC Banking was just another stepping stone until they both realized their dreams.

"Well, I certainly hope not," Caroline laughed, turning around to straighten the various items that adorned her tiny little cubicle at the counter. "I don't hold your freaky little Wiccan phase against you."

Her friend's laughter chimed in time with the bell above the front door, signaling the arrival of a new customer, and Caroline turned on her heel to greet them, her friendly smile freezing on her face as her breath caught in her throat.

There were very few things that could leave Caroline Forbes speechless.

The scene in The Notebook, where Noah proclaims to Ally that he wrote her letters every day. Pranks gone so horribly wrong that there's nothing to do but stare and gape in abject horror. Strep throat or laryngitis, certainly.

And one Elijah Mikaelson.

This is probably the part in the story where you expect the dashingly handsome man walking through the doors to smile, stride towards his waiting lady, and pull her in for a devastatingly passionate kiss that leaves them both breathless, quietly proclaiming his love to her as his fingers caress the skin of her cheek.

However, that's not part of this story.

No, there would be no epic declaration of love, or scorching lip lock that Caroline could feel all the way down to her toes. There would be no fond caresses or whispered passionate promises.

Because while Caroline could tell you numerous things about Elijah Mikaelson-like his social security number, the exact amount he had in each of his bank accounts, that he often smelled like sandlewood and his dark eyes were like deep pools that you could spend the rest of eternity drowning in-she was almost positive the only thing he could tell anyone about her was that she was the perky blonde cashier at the local bank who smiled just a bit too bright at him each time he came in.

But it was all moot really. Because Caroline was just as in love with him today as she had been when she first saw him years ago.

She knew she was being borderline creepy, watching as he made his way across the lobby, his tall, broad shouldered form clothed in an impeccably tailored suit that did little to hide the muscled form that lied beneath. His dark, soulful eyes were dancing as he smiled at the bank manager that stepped out to greet him, a friendly, flawless smile on his face.

Caroline sighed as she watched him, ignoring the snort of laughter that erupted from behind her as Bonnie caught her smitten ogling.

"Way to be on the downlow, Forbes," the other woman muttered as she turned back to the drive through window.

"Bite me, Bennett," she muttered through her smile, rolling her eyes discreetly before straightening her shoulders and bouncing on her heels as Elijah finally made his way up to her window, one hand holding his suit jacket to his stomach as he weaved around the velvet roping. "Good afternoon, Elijah," she greeted, her voice a high octave than normal as her heartbeat roared in her ears.

There was a smile on his face as he stopped in front of her, reaching into his suit jacket to pull out a dark green leather checkbook.. "Hello, sweetheart," he said jovially, settling his hands on the counter. "I need to make a withdrawal, if you'd be so kind."

He slid the checkbook towards her, and Caroline nodded as she reached for it, her fingertips grazing his as they settled over the leathery cover. She ducked her head to hide the sudden blush that took over her face, clearing her throat as she turned towards the computer to enter in the necessary information.

As she typed, she peered at him from the corner of her eyes, taking in his strong jaw and and refined posture. Every inch of the man screamed class and dignity, from his perfectly coiffed hair to his perfectly shined shoes. He exuded an elegance that Caroline had only fathomed in Austen novels, a near Darcy-esque persona that she admitted frequented her thoughts most of the time.

She always pictured moonlit dinners and starry night walks, filled with refined conversation and hushed declarations. Whispered caresses with smitten smiles before his lips would graze the skin of her skin, igniting a passion that engulfed every inch of her writhing-

A loud thump behind her made her jump, and she gasped, turning to see Bonnie sending her a withering glance as she stacked another box of rolled coins onto the back counter. There was a muted warning in her coworker's eyes as they traveled from her face to the man that stood just behind her shoulder.

Caroline merely grimaced, turning back to Elijah with an apologetic smile, quickly filling out the account withdrawal ticket and sliding it over to him for his signature. He smiled at her, signing his name with a flourish-how did THAT get her heart pounding-and returning it to her.

She counted out his bills-as always trying not to react to the large amount. There was no doubt that Elijah Mikaelson was a wealthy man. She'd been handling his accounts for years, so she knew very well that he didn't lack much of anything. She slid the crisp bills into a KLC envelope, sealing it firmly and sliding it across the counter towards his flattened palms. "Will there be anything else, Mr. Mikaelson?" she asked, keeping her tone level despite the numerous thoughts that accompanied her question.

Elijah chuckled, tucking the envelope of cash securely in his inside pocket. "No, I think that will be all for today," he said, straightening his lapel and letting his gaze wander over her for a brief moment before settling on her nametag. He smiled, nodding towards her. "Have a nice weekend, Caroline."

She grinned, her toes curling in her peep toed shoes at the shiver that coursed down her spine as he said her name. "You too," she called after him when he turned to walk away, casting a last glance over his shoulder with a smile as he headed towards the door, waving farewell to the bank manager before disappearing outside.

Caroline sighed as she watched him go, her brain screaming at her about all the other things she should have said to him. _ Wonderful weather, isn't it? Any big plans this weeked? I like your suit. You have pretty hair. We'd make beautiful babies together. I love you._

"You know the only reason he knew your name is because he saw your nametag?"

A frustrated groan left her lips as she glared at the woman who had appeared at her side, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. Bonnie was looking at her with near sympathy, her glossed lips quirked up in a small smile as her brows furrowed in concern, and Caroline merely rolled her eyes.

"You know, just because you've given up on the whole happily ever after thing doesn't mean you have to rain on my parade."

Bonnie laughed. "I'm not raining on your parade, Caroline. I just...you've gotten so infatuated with him. You've never even seen him outside this bank, and I just don't want you to have your little Elijah bubble burst."

"Who says it has to burst?" Caroline asked, ponytail swinging as she turned her head to look at her friend. "I mean, who knows, maybe my bubble can stay all pink and pretty, and one day Elijah and I will actually talk and connect on a more intimate level than 'what's your account number' and the bubble can just grow."

Bonnie's look of concerned sympathy deepened, and Caroline sighed again. "I know you think it's crazy, Bon. But do you remember that old saying your grandma used to tell us? 'Sometimes what you need is right in front of you?'" The brunette nodded, and Caroline shrugged. "Maybe Elijah is just what I need."

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The street was quiet when Caroline left the bank ten minutes later, her shift finished and her head aching from her constant defense against Bonnie's lectures. She wanted nothing more than to return to her apartment, prop her feet up on the couch, and tune into some bad reality TV with her roommates and forget about the day.

She was tightening her jacket around her thin form when she heard the muffled sounds of a scuffle a few feet ahead of her, and her steps slowed as she tried to pinpoint where the sounds were coming from.

A million warning bells were going off in her head, the most prominent being the voice of her sheriff mother warning her of the dangers of living in a big city- _"thefts and rapes and murders, Caroline, that's all big cities have to offer you. Don't ever go walking the streets alone, if you insist on going at all."_ She walked on the balls of her feet as her hand frantically dug through the large handbag hanging from her shoulder, her fingers searching for the familiar tube of pepper spray her father had insisted she invest in.

There was more shuffling, and the deep grunts of two men in conflict, coming from the alley just to her right. Her fingers wrapped around the pepper spray, her other hand digging into her coat pocket for her cellphone, just as she cautiously peered around the corner, her breath halting in her throat when she saw Elijah struggling with a man nearly twice his size against the brick wall.

His teeth were gritted as his hands fisted into the lapels of the man's black jacket, his feet shuffling against the cracked pavement as he staggered under his opponent's weight. There was a cut on his lip, and the skin under his right eye looked swollen and already beginning to discolor. His jacket was hanging off one shoulder, his tie askew and a button was missing from his white button up shirt.

Caroline watched in horror as the two men struggled, and of their own volition, her feet began to carry her further into the alley. Her mind was screaming at her to run and get help; to call the police or scream for anyone else, but her fingers were already pressing down on the safety of the pepper spray and her voice was screaming out a loud "Hey!" as she rounded the corner.

Startled, the two men halted in their tussle, both looking to her in confusion before the larger man's expression gave way to panic. Before she could even take another step, he slammed his body into Elijah's, subsequently slamming it into the hardened brick behind them. Caroline let out a startled scream when Elijah's head hit the brick and mortar with a sickening thud, his body falling limp and crashing to the ground in a heap.

She raced over to them just as the other man took off in the other direction, his body hurling itself at the wrought iron fence that blocked the end of the alley. He climbed it in a fury, grunting as he propelled his body over it and to the other side, his feet hitting the pavement with a thump before thundering away.

Caroline barely spared him a glance as she sunk down next to Elijah, hands hovering over him in panic before settling on his broad shoulders and rolling him onto his side. She cradled his head in her hands, gasping when she felt the steady trickle of blood seeping from the wound at the base of his skull. "Oh, God," she whispered, gingerly settling his head in her lap as she pulled out her cell phone, fumbling with the swipe screen before frantically punching in 911.

"911, what's your emergency?" a generic voice asked from the other line.

She explained in a rush that someone had been attacked, rambling off the address of the two nearest buildings and demanding they send an ambulance as soon as possible. The voice of the operator assured her that one was on the way, and asked her to please stay on the line until help arrived.

Cradling the phone between her head and shoulder, she looked down at Elijah, stroking the hair away from his face as she whispered hushed reassurances to him. She barely noticed the blood that was staining her pink pencil skirt, or the way the pavement dug into the skin of her knees as she kneeled down next to him.

The sirens of a racing police car resounded through the air, and she let out a relieved breath as the brakes squealed on the road a few feet away. She shifted on the ground, resting a hand Elijah's chest, the steady thumping of his heart under her touch sending a calming wave through her.

"They're down here!" a voice boomed from the entry to the alley, and there was a shuffling of feet and the sound of a stretcher being wheeled across the sidewalk.

Beneath her, Elijah began to stir, a soft moan of pain escaping his lips as he cringed. Caroline watched as his eyes blinked open, his gaze clouded and confused as they focused on her face. She smiled reassuringly when he frowned, nodding her head and running a hand across his forehead. "You're going to be okay."

He blinked at her, grimacing when he tried to move his head. He looked at her when she shushed him, his lips parting, and then he whispered a confused "Caroline?" before his eyes drifted shut again, his body going limp as he fell into unconsciousness.

Caroline couldn't help but gape down at him, ignorant of the sudden flurry of medical technicians around her until one braced a hand on her shoulder, tearing her attention away from the man in her lap.

"Ma'am, we're going to have to ask you to move," he said gruffly, helping her to her feet as another paramedic carefully lifted Elijah's head from her lap.

She stumbled to her feet, watching in a daze as they spoke loudly to Elijah, trying to draw his attention. They checked his pupils when he remained unresponsive, and after affirming a steady pulse, quickly shifted him onto the stretcher.

They rolled him down the alley at a brisk but careful speed, and Caroline followed along numbly, nodding towards the police officer that was talking in her ear about filing a witness statement and talking to a sketch artist.

But all she could focus on was that Elijah Mikaelson had remembered her name.

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**And there we have it! The prologue is out!**

**I hope you all enjoy, and that you'll sound off in the reviews and let me know what you all think. **

**An update should come soon, but since I'm also writing Fallen, I can't promise exactly when, but soon!**

**Follow me on Tumblr: klarolineepiclove.**

**Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Borrowed Hearts**

**Chapter Two**

**A.N. Late for work, so this is short and sweet, but you guys rock! I'm glad you're enjoying this so far. To answer a couple questions: yes, this is definitely a Klaroline story, and yes it was inspired by While You Were Sleeping. There was just too much of a want to put a Klarolijah spin on it, so hopefully you all enjoy.**

**Thanks to Becky and Miranda for the wonderful help. Do read and enjoy!**

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"Wait, can someone just-hey, excuse me, please! I just want to know if-"

Caroline's frantic cries were drowned out as the paramedics wheeled Elijah through the emergency room doors of Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Shoes skidded across the linoleum floors and the tires squealed against the sharp turns the gurney made as it was raced down the hallways.

Caroline was racing to keep up, her heels clicking against the floor as she tried catch up to them. Her eyes frantically searched above the heads of nurses in scrubs and receptionists with bright pink nametags, trying to keep the gurney that held the man of her dreams in her sights.

She could catch snippets of what the paramedics were yelling to the doctor: "Contusions, concussion brought on by blunt force trauma to the head, possible cracked ribs, suspected internal bleeding"-every word getting worse and worse and making her chest tighten.

They were peering over him, shining a light into his eyes and calling his name, all to no response, and then they were whisking him through the large double doors, shouting out a room number before their voices were cut off by the doors swinging back into place. She sped up her pace again, reaching towards the doors, but her feet skidded to a stop when a young woman stepped into her path, holding out a hand and forcing a smile onto her face.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you're not allowed in the emergency room," she said pleasantly but firmly, her head tilting, brown ponytail swishing around her shoulders.

Caroline sighed, clenching her hands into fists as she raised them helplessly, shaking her head. "I just want to know that he's okay. No one will tell me anything."

"Are you a relative?"

"No," she replied quietly. _I barely know him..._ "No, but I'm the one who came in with him, so-"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we only release information on patients when they are family, you know next of kin. Siblings, parents..."

"I know what 'next of kin' means," Caroline said exasperatedly.

"Cousins, uncles...you know, fiancée's or spouses, but if you aren't any of those, I'm afraid we can't release any information."

There are those moments in the movies when you can literally see the lightbulb go off in someone's head. That moment when a word or a phrase or something so simple that someone says just lights everything up for them, and they know in that moment that they're forming a plan. No matter how bad it could go, or how wrong things could end...

This was that moment for Caroline.

"Fiancée," she blurted, her own eyes widened at her words. The orderly lowered her hands, her head cocking to the side as her face softened in sympathy. "I'm Caroline Forbes, I'm...Elijah's fiancée."

She was so going to Hell.

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"He's stable. We managed to stop the bleeding in his abdomen, and we've been able to routinely ice his broken ribs. It's really the only treatment that's available for them. His head injury, however, is still a cause for concern."

Caroline watched as the brunette in the white lab coat with the words M. Fell, MD stitched across the pocket crossed the short distance to the x ray screen mounted on the wall. She quickly slid a black and white negative onto the holders and hit the switch, the picture lighting up with an image of human brain. She turned, pointing towards a small dark spot as she met Caroline's gaze.

"There's a small subdural hematoma on the surface of the brain that most likely occurred after his assailant hit his head into the side of the building. We were able to relieve the swelling, and drain the fluid as much as we could, but there's still a chance that it may recur."

"Is that why he's still asleep?" Caroline asked, nibbling on her fingernail as she shifted her gaze to the prone figure lying on the bed.

Elijah was washed in a sea of sterile white. The sheets of the hospital bed were pulled up to mid chest and tucked into his sides. The blue and white checkered hospital gown seemed to hang off his form, and his normally bright and tanned face was instead of pale pallor, his eyes sunken and his perfectly coiffed hair lay flat against his forehead.

He was so different from the handsome, lively man she'd come to adore over the years.

"We have him under sedation. Morphine as well as a few sedatives to keep him under. We'll start to wean him off of them over the next few days, and if his brain is healed, he should wake up on his own. We've put him into a medically induced coma in the meantime. We'll be able to determine if there was any other lasting damage after he's up and around, but until then, it's just a waiting game." She smiled when Caroline sighed wearily. "Your fiancee is a fighter, Miss Forbes. He was fighting from the second they wheeled him in. His outlook is good."

Caroline flinched at the term fiancee falling so easily from the doctor's mouth, the weight of her deceit weighing on her shoulders. She turned to her, forcing a smile onto her face as she nodded, taking a step back as Dr. Fell slipped the x-ray back into its slip cover and leaving the room, smiling at her once more before disappearing out the door.

She sighed, her eyes slowly shifting to Elijah again, and her teeth caught her lower lip to keep it from trembling. He looked so small in the middle of the bed, not at all the tall, strong man she knew him to be.. She made her way to the chair next to his bed, slowly sinking down into it as she looked him over. His lower lip was red and swollen, the hint of some kind of antibiotic cream shining under the flourescent lighting. The skin under his right eye was black and swollen, the very sight of it making her wince. There was a small series of scratches against his jaw, no doubt from the shuffle with the mugger, and the skin above the hem of his hospital gown was bruised with blue and black.

"Look at you," Caroline said quietly, shaking her head as she rested her hands against the mattress. "Look at me," she laughed, looking down at her blood stained skirt and wrinkled blouse. "Who knew the day was going to end like this?" She sighed, her fingers twisting in the crisp sheet before trailing towards Elijah's motionless hand. They wrapped around his own fingers, tracing nonsensical patterns on his palm. They were softer than she imagined they would be.

"I heard somewhere that when people are in comas like you, they can still hear when other people talk to them," she said, letting her hair fall over her shoulder as she tilted her head, her eyes traveling from his face to the tall machine that monitored his heart rate. "I don't actually know if that's true, but if it is, I'm sorry for, you know, the whole...fiancée thing."

His face remained the same, slack and expressionless.

"That's something you should know about me, though...I tend to talk a lot, even when I don't know what I'm talking about. Bonnie tells me it's endearing, but really it just gets me into trouble." She smiled, sighing quietly as she looked at him. "This really isn't how I imagined our first real conversation to go. For one, you're not talking back. And there's, you know...no smiling or laughing or that...great big realization that we're meant to be together. Not that that last thing would actually happen, but..." She trailed off, her fingers tracing the curves of knuckles know. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay, you know? And you're going to be, from what the doctor said, so...this whole white lie thing...we won't ever have to talk about it again. You know, when we actually talk. It'll just be some...stupid bad dream. Never happened."

"Where's my son?!"

Caroline jumped at the harsh voice that echoed from across the hallway, her hands slipping away from Elijah's as she stood out of her chair, barely managing to not trip over its legs in her rush to move away from the bed. Her hair whipped around her face as she crossed to the secluded corner of the room, her eyes wide and panicked as she watched an array of people flood into the room, Dr. Fell hot on their heels.

They all skidded to a stop as their eyes landed on Elijah's motionless form, and she watched as an older blonde woman held back a sob, her hand rising to her lips as she rushed over to the bedside and kneeled next to it. "Oh, Elijah, my son, what's happened to you?", her soft, British voice sobbed weakly as her hand traced his bruised face.

_Elijah's mother_, Caroline realized with dread, watching as the older blonde man quickly made his way to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her away from Elijah. _And his father. And his whole freaking clan, _she surmised as she watched the other inhabitants of the room quietly make their way further inside.

"The Mikaelson family, I'm assuming?" Dr. Fell asked hesitantly, standing in the doorway with her hands held at her sides. She stumbled back half a step when they all whipped their heads around to stare at her, and she cleared her throat. "I'm Dr. Meredith Fell, I'm your son's primary doctor and surgeon."

"Why did he need a surgeon," his mother asked, shaking her head as she clutched onto her husband's arm. "What happened, they didn't tell us anything when they called, the bloody police."

"Incompetent fools, the lot of them," his father muttered, and Caroline was taken aback by the malice that laced his words.

"Mr. Mikaelson, your son was involved in an attempted mugging outside a bank earlier this afternoon," Meredith stated, her face of professionalism slipping slightly at the gasp of horror that came from Mrs. Mikaelson as well as the younger blonde woman who'd crossed to her side. "He took a bit of beating, but he's very stable, and he's recovering nicely. I'd be happy to answer any of your-"

"You can start by explaining why we've only just heard about this now?" his father demanded, passing off his wife to the younger woman, who Caroline could only assume was a daughter, given her similar appearance to the other two blondes. Her gaze just briefly passed over the three dark haired men who still stood in the middle of the room, staring between the doctor and the man who lay unconscious in the bed. "We're his family, for Christ's sakes. We don't even warrant a phone call once he's admitted?"

"Your son was in surgery for quite a few hours," Meredith defended. "I assure you that you were notified as quickly as we could."

Mrs. Mikaelson nodded, swiping at her tear stained cheeks as she sighed. "You said surgery, but that he's recovering? So he'll be alright?"

Caroline was only partially listening as Meredith repeated Elijah's prognosis to his family. She was more concerned with the fact that she was surrounded by a clearly close knit family of the man she was fake engaged to, and that at any moment one of them would see her slinking into the shadows and call her out on everything. She needed to leave; she needed to get out while their attention was diverted.

She kept an eye on the group as she slowly slid along the wall, walking on the balls of her feet so her heels wouldn't make any unnecessary noise on the floor. She moved slowly, keeping one eye trained on the family in front of her and one on the door to his room, mere feet away from where she stood.

She winced as she tried to slither around a small endstand, her fingers sliding along its surface, careful to not disturb the potted plant or small stack of magazines that sat in pristine order. Letting out a relieved breath as she side stepped the table, her hair fell into her face as she turned towards the door.

"Excuse me?"

Caroline's steps froze at the accented voice behind her, and she felt a cold chill race down her spine. Clenching her hands into fists so tightly that her nails dug into the flesh of her palms, she slowly turned around, her breath stopping in her throat when she every pair of eyes fixed on her.

There was genuine confusion etched onto the faces of the Mikaelson family. His parents were staring at her in apprehension, while their daughter seemed to be critically assessing every inch of her. Their sons-she could only assume that who they were, given their likeness to Elijah with their dark hair and handsome features-were each appraising her.

It was the youngest who'd spoken-a boy of about 18 or 19 she would assume-and he was looking at her in intrigue, though concern for his brother still clouded his eyes. His brows were raised in question as he regarded her, an expression that seemed to be mirrored on the two older boys as well, and Caroline found herself forcing an uncomfortable but pleasant smile onto her face as she fully turned to face them.

There was another moment of silence before the blonde daughter spoke up, her face contorting as her blue eyes looked her over again. "Who the bloody hell are you?"

Caroline could only gape at her, her mouth opening and closing though no sound escaped. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, her palms sweating. The jig was up.

"That's Caroline," Dr. Fell answered for her, frowning when the family only seemed to shift their confusion to her. "His...fiancée?"

Caroline closed her eyes as there was another beat of silence, and then the chaos ensued.

"Whose fiancée?" the eldest son asked, his deep baritone a stark contrast to his quiet demeanor moments before. "Elijah?"

"Elijah's engaged?" the teenage boy asked, glancing over at his parents.

The long haired blonde unfolded her arms as she shifted on her feet, shaking her head with a disbelieving smirk. "Elijah's not engaged," she snarked. "Do you honestly believe that our Elijah would get engaged and not tell his family?"

"Well, the doc just said she was his fiancé," the boy defended, pointing in Caroline's general direction, and she could feel the heat rise to her face as he ran a hand through her hair.

The brother who'd remained quiet until then-he looked about Caroline's age, with dark hair and eyes, a rakish smile appearing on his face-let out a loud laugh, shaking his head. "Well how about that? The Golden Son has a tasty little betrothed tucked away in the wings! This is one for the books, family!"

"Kol," their mother intoned quietly, her confused gaze fixed solely on Caroline as she stepped forward, wrapping her thin brown jacket tighter around her shoulders as she crossed her arms. "Clearly there's been some misunderstanding."

Her husband snorted from behind her, a gruff laugh escaping his throat. "Or a mistake," he sneered, motioning towards Caroline and Elijah. "Why else would there be such a shroud of secrecy? So what, you and my son lost your scruples together, a bastard child was conceived, and instead of paying you off, somehow you've seduced him into marrying you, is that it?"

Caroline stared at the head of the Mikaelson clan, her mouth agape and her eyes wide, completely dumbfounded by the sheer audacity of this strange man she'd not even officially met. How was Elijah a part of this family? They were rude and judgemental and conceited and _rude_.

"Mr. Mikaelson," Dr. Fell interrupted. "Caroline is the one that quite possibly saved your son's life."

There was a moment of stunned silence after the doctor spoke, before Elijah's father spoke again. "What?"

Dr. Fell nodded, tilting her head towards Caroline. "Caroline interrupted the mugging, which I'm sure is the only reason your son's injuries weren't nearly as severe as they could have been. So maybe instead of slandering her and belittling her relationship with your son, you should just say thank you. To your future daughter-in-law, whether you knew about her or not."

Caroline wanted to yell at the young doctor to shut up. She wanted to scream and pull out her hair, and beg her to stop making this worse than it already was. It was a fib-a little white lie, and right before her eyes it was spiraling out of control like a freight train, and Dr. Meredith Fell was only adding coal to fire.

She was just about to rat herself out, to confess to everything and beg them to not throw her in jail for whatever heinous crime lying to a grieving family about being engaged to their comatose son was, when matriarch of the family stepped forward, her high heels clicking against the linoleum floor as she slowly made her way towards Caroline, stopping an inch away from her.

Caroline found herself gulping, fighting the urge to recoil against the woman's intimidating stare. She forced herself to meet her eyes, mentally preparing herself against whatever backlash she was sure was about to hit her.

"Is that true?" the woman asked quietly, lowering her head to meet Caroline squarely in the eye.

She could do nothing but nod slowly, realizing that this was the only truth to her whole ruse. She had saved Elijah, and white lie or not, that was something she would never regret doing.

She flinched when the woman's arms suddenly came around her, pulling her into a sudden embrace, and she staggered against the movement. She hesitantly rested her hands against the woman's back, her eyes quickly darting to peer around at the rest of the Mikaelson clan.

Each of them were still staring at her, though their previous disgust and judgement had seemed to fade. Their gazes were still hesitant, though filled with what she hoped was gratitude. Their father's gaze, however, hadn't changed, and she tried to ignore the way her skin seemed to shiver with the darkness of his stare.

She smiled hesitantly when Elijah's mother pulled away, her hands reaching up to cradle Caroline's cheeks, fresh tears welling in her eyes as she sighed happily.

"Well...welcome to the family, Caroline."

Oh, she was in deep shit now.

xxxxxxx

"So, wait...say that again?"

Caroline sighed into the phone as she angrily punched the button on the coffee dispenser, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes. The hospital cafeteria was slightly crowded, but it still offered her the reprieve she'd so desperately needed.

After Esther, as she'd learned Elijah's mother was named, had unofficially welcomed her to the family, she'd been rapidly introduced to the rest of the clan, all of whom had seemed to take a complete reversal on their opinion of her. Finn, Henrik, and Kol-Elijah's three younger brothers-had all welcomed her warmly after learning about her part in stopping Elijah's mugging, each offering a hand shake and kiss on the cheek-though Kol's seemed to last a little too long and she didn't quite yet trust that impish smirk that seemed to always reside on his face.

Even Rebekah, the only daughter of the Mikaelsons, had warmed her icy glare and smiled, pulling her into a half hearted hug and whispering her thanks into her ear. She'd apologized for her behavior, claiming the stress of the situation had turned her into a raging bitch-a statement that was followed with a snort from her younger brother and a well earned shove at Kol-and that she hoped they could forget her whole hostile introduction.

Elijah's father, Mikael, hadn't been quite as welcoming, though he did offer a gruff thank you and handshake, but no apology for his uncalled for pregnancy comments-a subject that had seemed to be forgotten for the moment, much to Caroline's relief.

She'd been spared any further confrontation when a uniformed police officer had entered the hospital room, apologizing for the interruption but needing to ask a few routine questions. Caroline had politely stepped outside, having been questioned by the police earlier, and had made her escape down to the cafeteria, berating herself the entire elevator ride and wracking her brain about ways she could possibly get out of this now.

Which was possibly how she'd found herself dialing the number of her best friend. If anyone could help her solve this clusterfuck of a problem, it would be Stefan Salvatore.

"You...botched a mugging. Of the man you've had a hideously inappropriate crush on for longer than you should have. And in an effort to find out if he had been shanked to death or not, you lied to hospital personnel, told them you were his fiancee, and now his whole family has shown up out of the blue and ruined your chances of disappearing with no one the wiser. Is that about right?"

Caroline shifted the phone to her other ear, grabbing three sugar packets and her Styrofoam coffee cup. "Yeah...that's about it."

Stefan sighed on the other line. "Man, you are so fucked."

"Stefan! I called you for help," Caroline whispered loudly, shaking her head as she headed for a secluded table in the back of the room. "You have to help me get out of this, okay? I really screwed up, and now this whole gigantic family are looking at me with these weird doe eyes like I'm some kind of Messiah or something, and his mother keeps stroking my arm and murmuring how she's glad he found a girl like me. And his brothers are all...weird. I mean, not so much Finn and Henrik, but there's something irksome about Kol, like he's plotting something beyond his smirk or something. And his sister keeps smiling at me and looking at Elijah, and his freaking father just stares. Okay? I am way over my head here, Stef, you have to help me."

"Caroline, just tell them the truth."

"I _can't_," she stressed, pulling out a chair and slumping down into it. "You didn't see the way they reacted at first-I felt like a deer surrounded by bloodthirsty wolves and they were just angling to rip my throat out. I can't just say, 'Oh hey, jokes on you guys, your son doesn't even know my last name.' No, I can't, there's no way." She sighed, shaking one of the pink sugar packets before ripping it open and dumping it into the steaming cup. "I just...I don't know, I have to, like, bide some time until this blows over or something."

Stefan let out a scoffling chuckle. "I don't think this is one of those 'ignore it and it goes away' problems, Care. These people think you're engaged to their comatose son. You could be their lifeline right now, something they have to hold onto him. You're going to be lucky if they even let you out of their sight."

"Well, what do I do?"

"I dunno, maybe hide in a broom closet or something."

Caroline scowled at the phone. "You're useless, Salvatore, why do I keep you around?"

"Because I balance out your crazy," he replied.

She could hear a door closing, and the familiar sounds of Journey playing over his stereo system as he started his car. "Look, just hang tight, I'll be there in like fifteen minutes. We'll brainstorm and we'll figure something out. Or at the very least you can use me as a human shield when you tell the truth."

Caroline sighed, saying her thanks and goodbye as they hung up the phone. She sometimes wondered if Stefan ever regretted becoming her friend. It seemed like since the day he'd transferred to Mystic Falls High School their freshman year, he'd gotten roped into more of her scemes and problems than they could even keep track of. He'd even followed her and Bonnie to Chicago a few years ago when he decided to try his hand at writing. He'd gotten a job at one of the local papers and moved into Caroline's two bedroom apartment.

And now he was helping her commit fraud.

She let out a groan, dropping her forehead to the table and flattening her palms on the plastic top. This was all just some horrible nightmare...some corny made-for-TV movie that she'd found herself sucked into, and her mind was running wild with every possible scenario she could think of to get herself out of this.

Not a one of them ended well.

Lifting her head dejectedly, she reached for her cup of coffee, lifting it to her lips and taking a large gulp before wincing at the bitter taste. Her face scrunched up in disgust as she sat up, holding the Styrofoam cup away from her in confusion. She gulped down the pure black coffee, shaking her head and she groaned.

"Ugh, this isn't my coffee," she said, frowning when she finally noticed that there had been two cups sitting on the edge of the table, so focused on her rant with Stefan she hadn't even noticed the signs of someone else sitting at the table before her.

"No, that one's mine."

The voice that spoke at her side was deep and accented, and she swiviled around in her chair to look up at the man. He was tall and blonde, with piercing blue eyes that were looking down at her in mild amusement. His blonde curls were a mess on his head, as if he'd been running his hand through them for hours. His broad shoulders were clothed in a tight fitting gray Henley, an array of beaded and leather necklaces peeking out from the V-neck. Dark blue jeans encased his long legs, and black leather boots were on his feet. His jaw was lined with a light stubble, and his lips were turned up in a slight smirk as he looked at her. In his hands he held a small bag of pretzels from the vending machine across the room.

He was certainly attractive, Caroline realized as she shook her head, shaking herself from her unabashed oogling and looked back down at the coffee cup in her hand and the one on the table. "I'm so sorry," she finally said, setting his cup back down and frowning. "I didn't even notice that someone else was sitting here, I was a million miles away." She looked back up at him. "Let me buy you another cup."

The man held up a hand and shook his head. "No, it's fine," he said, smiling. "One sip won't hurt anything. It's really not a problem. Please, stay," he added when he saw her reaching for her purse and rising from her seat. He slid into the black plastic chair across from her, reaching for the discarded cup of coffee and offering her a smile. "Hospitals tend to mess with people's heads, I think. It's really no problem. Most people I think just want to run out screaming." He smiled again when she laughed. "So who might my coffee thief be?"

"Caroline," she offered, smiling softly as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Caroline." Her name seemed to roll off his tongue elegantly, and she couldn't help the blush that came to her face unbidden. "I'm Klaus."

"I'm really sorry about the coffee. I should have been paying more attention, I mean, if I had been I would have been able to tell. I mean, it smelled gross." She caught the way he arched his brows at her, and she realized how her words may have sounded to him. "Not that I think your coffee choices are gross, it's just that it smelled so strong and it was so bitter and black and...uck." His lips twitched again, and she found herself laughing. "So, yeah, I guess I am saying your coffee choices are gross."

Klaus smiled, sitting back in his chair as his long fingers wrapped around his own cup, bringing it to his lips with a shrug. "Well, excuse me for not being one of you Americans who coat everything in sugar and artificial creamers. I prefer the natural taste of things." He smiled when she laughed again, taking a sip of his scalding beverage before returning it to its place on the table. "So, given your lack of attention and our current location, I'm guessing you're not just here for the 'excellent' coffee?"

"Hard to believe, I know," Caroline laughed, wrapping her hands around her coffee cup. "No, I'm with my...um." She trailed off, the word "fiance" stalling on her tongue, and she shook her head. "I came in with someone. You?"

Klaus took a deep breath, pursing his lips as he shifting the cup on the tabletop. "Just thickening my skin for the family reunion I'm sure is underway somewhere in the hospital. Crises always make for a great family dynamic," he said, lowering his chin and smiling over at her. "Though being in the company of a beautiful woman certainly makes the preparation easier."

Caroline arched a dubious eyebrow, a smile coming unbidden to her face. "Smooth," she said, shaking her head. "Do you hit on women in hospital cafeterias often?"

He laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "You're honestly the first in a hospital. But the opportunity presented itself, and I had to take it." He leaned forward a bit. "Not to mention the lovely shade of pink your face takes on when you're flustered."

"Wow," she laughed, grinning, for the moment forgetting all about the disaster that was waiting for her three floors up. She could feel the tension slipping away as she talked and laughed with this stranger, at ease for the first time all day. "Well, who can resist with embarrassing lines like that?" Her gaze slid across his face, noting the identical dimples in his cheek, and the way his smirk seemed to spread with her laughter, his eyes lighting up as they scoured her own face. She tsked playfully, wagging her finger in the direction of his coffee cup. "Too bad for your bitter coffee is a deal breaker. I mean, I **am** one of those sugar coating Americans who can't handle the natural taste of things."

Klaus grinned then, an honest unhindered smile, and Caroline's heart fluttered at just how handsome he was in that moment. She found herself giggling, shaking her head against that niggling feeling in the back of her mind.

"There you are."

The click of heels on the tile floor drew their attention, and Caroline looked over to see Rebekah striding towards them, a smile on her face and her long blonde hair flying around her shoulders with every step, and just like that the niggling feeling roared forth, her mind realizing just how this situation would look to her fake future sister-in-law.

"Hey," she greeted, frowning when she heard Klaus' voice chime in unison with her own. Their eyes met, both of them looking at each other in confusion, and a sudden awareness crossed Caroline's face as the pieces started to fall together.

The British accent. The charm that seemed a bit too familiar. The family dynamic comment, dripping with dread and sarcasm.

_Seriously?_

"Late as always, darling brother," Rebekah said, smiling as she came up to the table, crossing her arms across her chest and bumping her hip against Klaus' chair. "I see you've met Caroline. Our brother's dirty little secret. No offense, of course."

Klaus was looking at her, his eyes squinted and his lips parted, and she could feel a tug in her chest at the sheer look of disappointment that was on his face. She was sure it was an expression that was mirrored on her own.

"Which brother?" Klaus asked quietly, looking up at Rebekah as his face fell.

"Elijah, of course," she answered, putting the final nail in her coffin. "She's his fiance."

0000000000000000000000

**Dun dun duuuun.**

**And Klaus has entered! **

**Make sure to sound off in the reviews and let me know what you're loving or hating.**

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	3. Chapter 3

**Borrowed Hearts**

**Chapter Three**

**A.N. Thank you so much for your responses last chapter! I'm glad you enjoyed the Klaroline first meeting, as it was my favorite to write. This chapter is a favorite as well-we have all kinds of shenanigans happening.**

**Thank you to my wonderful beta team, Miranda, Becky, Leah and most recently Katie. **

**Happy reading!**

**xxxxxx**

_"Elijah, of course. She's his fiancee."_

If Caroline had the ability to make the Earth swallow her whole, she'd choose this moment to do it.

She watched as the flirtatious, carefree smile disappeared from Klaus' face, replaced with an expression of guarded apprehension and-for a split second-regret. There was a flash of something else in his eyes she couldn't quite place. She could feel an odd tightening in her chest, her own flare of regret, and an overwhelming sense of embarrassment.

She'd just been flirting with Elijah's brother. Unconsciously or not, she flirted with her fake fiancee's brother. Her fake fiancee, who was lying in a medically induced coma just floors above them. With his entire family-not all of whom were on board with their "engagement"-by his bedside.

She was a horrible, awful person.

"Elijah," Klaus said, chuckling sardonically as he looked back at her, his finger tapping against the side of his coffee cup. "Well, when you said you came in with someone, you weren't kidding."

He was eyeing her now, his gaze harsh and calculating, suspicion seeming to radiate from him. She suddenly realized what this must look to him, and she could feel a small twinge of panic.

"Yes, she's quite the surprise, isn't she?" Rebekah said, smirking.

"That's an understatement," Klaus remarked.

"A happy surprise, though, if you ask me." She shrugged when Klaus looked up at her. "She did save Elijah's life, jumping into the attack and all. Call it what you want, brave or foolish, but I suppose it's enough for us to forgive her for being, as Kol has so fondly taken to calling her, 'Elijah's tawdry little secret.'"

Caroline's jaw dropped slightly at the other blonde's words-she sure as hell wasn't tawdry-and across the table, Klaus sighed, giving his sister a stern look.

"They're Kol's words, not mine, Nik," Rebekah defended with a roll of her eyes. "You want to go all reprimanding and grumpy, go talk to your younger brother about it. Which you can do, as Mother sent me down here to find you. Both of you, actually. Lucky me, you were in the same spot."

Klaus smiled, turning glancing at Caroline from the corner of his eye. "Lucky indeed."

Caroline forced herself to smile, laughing quietly, though inside she was a stark contrast to her calm exterior. She was torn between panicking over this new kink in her already disaster filled plan-_-what kind of brother arrived an hour after his family, I mean __**seriously**_-and being completely offended by the fact that this complete stranger had the audacity to judge her.

"Well," Rebekah said, clapping her hands together and stepping away from Klaus' chair. "Mother calls, Niklaus, and I believe you know how she hates to be kept waiting. Let's spare dear Caroline her wrath so early in her relationship with the family, hmm?"

She turned on one stiletto heel and started out of the cafeteria, leaving Klaus and Caroline to stare after her before looking at each other.

Caroline could see a mountain of questions behind his blue eyes-or were they accusations-but she merely cleared her throat and hurried to her feet, pulling her purse onto her shoulder and lifting her coffee cup to her lips. As she turned, she heard the legs of Klaus' chair scrape against the linoleum floor and his footsteps follow her out the door. She tried to keep her steps slow and even, tried to keep her shoulders firm and straight, even though every inch of her was telling her to high tail it out of the hospital and away from Klaus Mikaelson.

"You know, love," his voice said softly right next to her ear, and she snapped her head towards him, her blonde hair whipping across his face lightly. His gaze was locked straight ahead of them, never once glancing in her direction as he matched her step for step. "You were awfully friendly for an engaged woman."

Caroline scoffed, shaking her head. "How would you know how friendly I am to strangers? You didn't even know me ten minutes ago."

"And from what I gather, my family didn't even know you existed a few short hours ago, but lo and behold, Rebekah seems to be your number one fan. Quite peculiar, isn't it? The fact that she didn't even bat an eye that our dear brother's betrothed was chatting so animatedly with another man in the middle of a hospital cafeteria?"

Gritting her teeth, she let out a slow breath as they rounded the corner into the lobby, keeping her gaze on Rebekah's back so she wouldn't throw a death glare in the other Mikaelson's direction. "You're her brother, why would she? And we were not chatting 'animatedly.'"

"Oh, I think there was quite a bit of animation on both our parts, sweetheart."

Caroline halted in her steps, turning towards him with a glare. He met her gaze with an amused smirk, his eyebrows raised, but before she could fire off a single word, a voice called her name from the revolving doors to the hospital, and she breathed a small sigh of relief when she caught sight of a familiar figure making his way towards her.

Saved by a Salvatore.

"Hey, sorry it took so long," Stefan said as he walked up to them, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and eyeing Klaus curiously. "There was some kind of construction or something on the main highway, I had to detour."

"No, it's fine," she said, smiling and waving a hand.

"And who might you be, mate?" Klaus asked quietly, looking between Caroline and Stefan with a raised brow.

Caroline could hear the insinuation in his voice, and she tightened her grip around her cup, gritting her teeth as she tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible.

Stefan turned to him, squaring his shoulders and eyeing the other man up and down. It was a signature Stefan Salvatore move-after years of friendship with her and Bonnie, neither of which had older brothers or parents who really paid that much attention, he took it on himself to fill that overprotective role. Any time one of them starting dating someone new-she still felt horrible for Matt Donovan their junior year of high school having to endure Stefan's threatening smiles from across the pool table-or starting spending time with anyone of the male population he wasn't familiar with-poor Professor Atticus Shane, when all he wanted was to guide Bonnie on a brilliant college career path-Stefan made it his business to get across the point that his girls weren't to be messed with.

And Cock in the Henhouse Stefan was front and center in the middle of the hospital corridor.

"Stefan. Caroline's roommate."

_Stupid. Stefan. Salvatore._

Caroline closed her eyes as she saw Klaus grin, and she let out a sigh.

"Well...isn't that interesting," he commented, clasping his hands behind his back and rocking back on his heels. "Quite interesting. Tell me, how does Elijah feel about your little roommate arrangement, Caroline?"

Stefan held up a hand, frowning. "Hang on a second, who are you?"

"He's Elijah's brother," Caroline answered, shifting on her feet. "Klaus."

Stefan seemed to realize his slip up then, and how his declaration of the two of them living together could come across to a family that just learned she was "engaged" to their eldest son. He slipped his hand back into his pocket, murmuring a quite "Oh," and throwing Caroline a look of apology, a small wince on his face.

She sighed, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. A click of heels caught her attention, and she turned to see Rebekah striding towards them, a look of impatience on her face as she held her arms out at her sides.

"What the bloody hell is taking you two so long? I won't suffer Mother's temper on my own if you two-"

Her words cut off as she skidded to a halt, her eyes widening when they caught sight of Stefan standing between them. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, her lips parting as her hands fell to her sides. "Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were speaking with...someone."

Caroline smiled at her, telling her no apologies were necessary, though her words quieted when she looked over Stefan mid sentence. Her best friend was staring at the new arrival with wide eyes and a growing smirk, his dark brown eyes alight with appraisal as they looked the blonde over with interest. She couldn't help but smile slightly-she hadn't seen Stefan this interested in someone since Elena Gilbert back in high school-and there was no need to rehash that horrible fiasco. Not while Elena was off scouring the globe with Damon Salvatore, Stefan's older and much douchier brother.

"Rebekah, meet Stefan," Klaus chimed in, motioning towards the younger man with a show of his hand. "A friend of Caroline's and, as it would seem, her roommate."

Rebekah shook herself out of her stupor, frowning when her brother's words clicked in her head, and she looked at Caroline in question. "You don't live with Elijah?"

Caroline gaped at her, and she prayed the panic she felt in her chest wasn't written on her face. Damn Klaus Mikaelson. Damn Elijah Mikaelson and his impeccable smiles, and damn her for ever being so stupid to think she could just make up some stupid lie and get away with it. Damn everything and everyone-

"Not all the time. You know, Elijah works some pretty crazy hours, and Care's kind of...left alone during then. So I'm kind of like the uh...the back-up roommate."

Everyone except Stefan Salvatore.

He met her gaze for a moment before he shrugged, smiling at Rebekah. "We've been friends since high school, and we lived together before she met Elijah. So it kind of just...worked out." He grinned, dropping his gaze before raising his eyes. "I'm sorry...you're Elijah's sister?"

Rebekah nodded, smiling. "Rebekah."

"Rebekah," he repeated softly, nodding as he clasped his hands in front of him. "It's nice to meet you."

Caroline watched with a smile as Stefan and Rebekah seemed to gaze into each other's eyes-exactly how she imagined it in all of those corny trashy bodice ripping romance novels she hid under her pillow to avoid Stefan's teasing. A glance over at Klaus showed the man watching the scene with masked disdain, his lips slightly curled up as he glanced in between her best friend and his baby sister, and she bit back a chuckle, squaring her shoulders and clearing her throat.

Their moment was broken, Rebekah let out a quiet sigh, brushing her hair away from her face and raising her eyebrows at her brother. "RIght, well. Can we go? Everyone's waiting." Her gaze flicked to Stefan again, a dazed smile appearing on her face. She sent her brother one more glare before turning and heading for the elevator.

"Uh, Care, can I talk to you for a second before you go?" Stefan asked.

Caroline nodded, catching her friend's meaningful look, and sighed, turning to Klaus with a faked smile and tilting her head. "Well, should we go? Or do you have more erroneous accusations to make towards me?"

Klaus' lips merely spread into a smile, a small scoff of laughter escaping them as he shrugged. "Well, excuse me for being just a tad suspicious of you, sweetheart, but considering you've appeared to just have fallen out of the sky, you can hardly blame me."

He glanced at Stefan once more before shouldering passed them both, striding towards the elevator where Rebekah was waiting with a tapping foot, her hand flat against the metal doors to keep them from closing. She looked over at Klaus as he stepped through the doors, a question on her lips as she looked back at them. Klaus spoke to her quickly, and she nodded, throwing them one last glance before stepping back and letting the doors slide closed.

Caroline stared after them for a moment before stomping her foot and turning towards Stefan. "You know what, I do kind of blame him."

Stefan looked at her incredulously. "Caroline, you're pretending to be engaged to his comatose brother."

She grumbled, shrugging her shoulders as she lifted her coffee cup to her lips. "Yeah, but he doesn't know that." She rolled her eyes when Stefan simply continued to stare at her, his head shaking in disbelief. "Shut up."

xxxxx

"He looks like that creepy pale guy from _Rocky Horro_r."

"Henrik."

"What? I'm just making an observation, Finn."

The quiet bickering greeted Rebekah and Klaus as they made their way into Elijah's room, the latter hesitating in the doorway as his eyes caught sight of his brother's prone form lying in the bed.

He was only vaguely aware of his mother's voice shushing two of his brothers, so distracted at seeing his big brother more frail than he ever had 's always seen Elijah in a certain light: strong, brave, his big brother who would fight any battle that he couldn't finish. He was the moral one of the family; the one you could always count on. He was indestructible.

Look at him now…

"Niklaus."

He tore his gaze away from Elijah, widening his eyes against the sting of tears he could feel welling-and he would not cry, not now, not here-and met his mother's concerned gaze as she walked towards him, a gentle smile on her face as she reached out and pulling him into a hug, resting her head against his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around her, inhaling her familiar scent and letting himself be comforted. He kept his eyes away from Elijah, instead glancing over at Kol, Finn and Henrik, all of whom were watching the scene with somber expressions, before turning his gaze towards the lone figure across the room.

His father had his back to him, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared out the large paned window. He didn't even acknowledge that Klaus was there.

As if that was anything new.

"I'm so happy that you're here, my son," Esther said as she pulled away from him, resting a hand against his stubbled cheek. "I know it means the world to your brother as well…"

Glancing at the brother in question, he gave a sharp nod, moving towards his other siblings with his mother at his side. "How is he?" he asked, clasping a hand on Henrik's shoulder as he nodded towards Kol and Finn, watching Rebekah sink into a chair next to Elijah's bedside.

"The doctor seems to be quite optimistic," Esther answered, resting her hands against the railing of the hospital bed. The steady beep of the machine sounded in time with Elijah's heartbeat, and Klaus took heart in how steady and strong it sounded. "They say he's quite strong, and very likely to wake up soon. Though it's a bit of a waiting game, I'm afraid."

"Complete imbeciles, the lot of them," Mikael finally sounded, turning towards them with a scoff. "If he were in a decent hospital…"

"Mikael," Esther sighed, shaking her head, a few tendrils of blonde hair slipping out of the pristine bun at the base of her neck. "Dr. Fell seems to be quite capable."

Mikael snorted. "Our definitions of 'capable' differ, my love." He sighed, glancing about the room, carelessly passing his gaze over Klaus before landing on Rebekah. "Where's the girl?"

"Caroline? She'll be right up-she was speaking to someone in the lobby," Rebekah answered. At her father's raised brow, she shrugged, crossing her arms across her chest. "Her roommate showed up."

"Roommate?" Esther asked, frowning. "She doesn't live with Elijah?"

Klaus could hear the confusion in his mother's voice, and he remembered his own from mere moments ago. It certainly was odd, a newly engaged woman not living with the man she would one day call husband. It wasn't the Dark Ages anymore-how often did you hear about a couple not living together before they married?

"From what Stefan said, they lived together before she met Elijah, and only live together now when his work hours get too hectic. It's a very Elijah thing to do-he's a worry wort through and through," Rebekah answered, a hint of fondness in her voice as she glanced at her brother in question.

"Stefan?" Mikael sneered. "So she lives with another man? Well, that's just another indication that the little harlot is milking our son for all he's worth, isn't it?"

Rebekah frowned, shifting in her seat. "I don't think they're involved, Father. Not that I could tell, anyway."

"Which means she's got a thing for the bloke," Kol chimed in, grinning at his sister when she sent him a scathing glare. "Honestly, Bekah, this is a hospital. Can't you scope out your next victim at a less dreary location?"

"Shut up, Kol!"

Their mother opened their mouth to scold them, but at the same moment, Caroline walked into the room, her hands now devoid of the Styrofoam cup and were now wringing in front of her as she smiled uncertainly.

Klaus tried to keep his eyes from traveling across her form, but he couldn't help but notice her beauty. It was what had first drawn her to him in the cafeteria. Her silken blonde hair, blue eyes that he could see sparkle from across the room. She had been stunning.

And then she'd surprised him, seeming to challenge every line he threw at her with one of her own. He'd been enthralled. Taken. Intrigued.

And she was Elijah's girl. Life would be so cruel.

"Caroline, darling!" Kol called out, slipping from his place next to Finn and walking towards her. "What's this we hear about a scandalous roommate situation? Surely you haven't gotten straight laced 'Lijah into the swingers scene? Can you imagine the family newsletter?" His eyes widened in mock horror, his hand resting against his heart as he seemed to stumble back a step.

Caroline's eyes widened, and she laughed. "Who, Stefan? Yeah, there's really no scandal there in the slightest."

Rebekah leaned forward in her seat. "Where is Stefan?" she asked nonchalantly, craning her neck to peer over the other blonde's shoulder.

"Oh, he got a call from work. He's a journalist at the Tribune...he'll be here in just a few seconds."

Mikael took a step towards her. "And who is this Stefan?" he asked coldly, regarding her with disdain. "An old boyfriend, perhaps?"

The smile faltered from Caroline's face at his tone of voice, and Klaus felt a stab of pity for the girl. He was no stranger to Mikael's disdain. He may have been suspicious of her as well, but Mikael's tactics were much worse than his.

"No," she shook her head. "He's just an old friend."

The older man pursed his lips, nodding as he shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the warning glare his wife was sending in his direction. "An old friend...one you happen to live with, on your off time with my son. That's an odd arrangement, don't you think?" He glanced around the room before settling his gaze on Caroline. "After all, a man and a woman, living together...old friends or not...things are bound to escalate at some point."

"Mikael," Esther hissed.

"I can promise you they don't," Caroline replied, her eyes narrowed slightly and her jaw clenched. Klaus had to give her props-she had a backbone made of steel.

"Can you? And what good, pray tell, is a promise from you, Miss Forbes? Less than an hour ago, we didn't even know you existed. And now suddenly, you're engaged to our son, a man who is quite well off as I'm sure you know, and we're just expected to bend down and accept it all?"

"Mr. Mikaelson-"

"I can assure you, my dear, that this family doesn't take lightly to having the wool pulled over our eyes, so whatever little game you and your boyfriend are playing-"

Caroline shook her head. "Stefan is not my boyfriend."

"Father, for goodness sakes, leave her be," Rebekah chimed in.

Mikael looked over at her, his face softening slightly towards her as he tsked. "And of course you're smitten, Rebekah. This Stefan fellow must be a bit easy on the eyes then, hmm?" He shook his head. "Quite an operation-weasling your way into the wallet of one Mikaelson before having your 'old friend' work on my daughter."

"He's not working on anyone," Caroline defended. "It's ridiculous to even think that. Stefan is so far from that kind of person, I mean he's…"

"He's what, Miss Forbes?" Mikael asked.

The walls were closing in on her again. She could feel it-feel the weight of their stares, the judgement that was just looming, and she knew she had to do something.

"He's gay."

That...might not have been the best though.

Her declaration caught the eldest Mikaelson off guard, his suspicion giving into a look a confusion as he saw his entire argument refuted. She tried to swallow down the lump of pride that welled in her throat at the realization that she'd trumped the old man, but one glance at Rebekah's stricken face and her pride quickly changed to dread.

"He's gay?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, that would certainly explain Elijah's nonchalance about the whole roommate thing," Kol laughed, nudging Rebekah with his elbow. "Looks like your gaydar could use a tune up, sister." He dodged the shove she aimed at him, chuckling.

Esther clapped her hands together, putting an end to the apparent argument and bickering. "Well, I believe that settles that argument," she said with a sigh, smiling over at Caroline, taking the girl's flustered appearance for nerves as she stood up against Mikael. She bypassed the sheer panic and anxiety that was written across her face. "Now...I think it's time we left. The doctor has assured us that there's nothing we can do here-it's up to Elijah now, and knowing him, he'll awaken shortly and put my nerves to rest. In the meantime," she smiled over at Caroline. "Caroline, would you join our family for dinner tonight?"

"Dinner?" Caroline echoed. Dinner with his family...a family she was lying to, with a father who she was sure saw right through her and a brother she had shamelessly been flirting with minutes ago.

Someone up there hated her.

"Yes. I think we all need a bit of a jovial occasion after the day's events, and what better one that to get to know the young woman who not only saved Eljah's life but captured his heart as well?" She smiled at her, tilting her head to the side. "Do say you'll join us, Caroline."

Caroline's eyes were wide as she nodded, not quite sure what else she could do. She smiled when the older woman let out a pleased sigh, mentally kicking herself for this pure disaster she'd gotten herself into. And glancing over at a sullen Rebekah, one she'd dragged Stefan into as well.

She shuffled off to the side as the Mikaelson family began to gather their things and head for the door. She lifted a hand to her mouth, her teeth beginning to nibble on the nail of her index finger a she watched them. Henrik and Finn smiled pleasantly at her as they left, Kol shooting her a wink and a grin. Rebekah was quiet as she left, offering her a small smile, but Caroline could see the sadness in the blonde's eyes, and she remembered how ardently she and Stefan had looked at each other earlier.

Leave it to her to ruin what could have been great before it even began.

"I think I'll stay a bit," she heard Klaus say quietly, and she looked up to see him sliding into the seat Rebekah had been sitting in, pulling it closer to the side of the bed.

Esther nodded, resting her hands on his shoulders. "But you'll be at dinner?"

He offered her a nod, resting his elbows on his knees and placing his chin on his clasped hands. His gaze briefly slid to her, their eyes meeting, and he nodded again before turning his attention back to Elijah.

There was something sad about that scene...a brother sitting as another's bedside, silent and stoic, though she knew Klaus' eyes betrayed the fury of emotions he was holding back from his family.

She silently wondered if he could see the war going on in her own eyes…

She jumped suddenly when Mikael slid past her, glaring with a sneer on his lips, and she took a deep breath as she lifted her purse higher onto her shoulder, her heartbeat raging in her ears. She felt Esther steering her from the room with a gentle hand on her shoulder, pressing a piece of paper into her hand as they walked.

"We'll see you tonight, Caroline," she said as Caroline glanced down at the paper and saw an address scribbled in an elegant scrawl.

She smiled, nodding again, and watched as the matriarch followed after her family, a long held breath escaping her lips as they disappeared around the corner. She folded the paper in her hand, slipping it into the side pouch of her purse, and glanced over her shoulder into Elijah's room.

Klaus still sat as she'd left him, his head bowed, eyes riveted on his brother's pale face, and something tugged inside her.

"Hey," Stefan said as he came up to her, sliding his phone into his jacket pocket. He looked into the room over her shoulder, placing a hand at the small of her back. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Caroline sighed, turning towards him. "Except for the fact that now I get to have dinner with the whole Mikaelson clan."

"What?"

She threw up her hands, falling into step next to him as they both headed towards the elevators. "Their mom blindsided me. Mikael was being a serious douche and she defended me and then before I knew it, I was agreeing to dinner." She sighed. "God, Stef, what am I going to do?"

Her best friend sighed, reaching out and hitting the button for the elevator. "I don't know, Care. This goes above and beyond any of your other hairbrained schemes." He cleared his throat, shifting on his feet as his eyes looked up at the illuminated numbers above the doors. "Though since you've spent a while with them and they think you're, you know, gonna be one of them...do you happen to to know if Rebekah is seeing someone?"

A new wave of dread washed over, and she whipped her head towards him, eyes wide as she recalled her panicked outburst moments ago. Oh, he was going to be so mad…

He saw the apprehension on her face, and he frowned, turning towards her. "What?"

She smiled sweetly. "Promise you won't get mad?"

His eyes narrowed. "No."

Sighing, she ran her hands down her face. "Ugh, so when I mentioned that Mikael was being a douche, it was because he found out that you and I were roommates, and he was grilling me on our relationship and how he thought we were basically scam artists, and I just panicked and freaked out and I...may have lied and said you...were...gay."

Stefan Salvatore was a patient man. He had to be, when it came to her. She was infuriating, she knew. That was no secret or denial. But in that moment she could see all the patience he had towards her slip away, and she placed a hand over her mouth as she stared up at him.

"I'm sorry, Stefan, I just panicked! It was word vomit-you know how that happens. I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, no matter how crazy it sounds!"

"You told them I was gay, Caroline?" he asked loudly, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said, bouncing on the heels of her feet as she faced him. "I'm so sorry, Stefan. I know you like Rebekah, and I'm so, so sorry. Please, please don't be mad. I'm going to fix this, I promise. I just...don't know how."

"Just tell them," Stefan replied, striding into the elevator when the doors slid open.

Caroline groaned, chasing after him. "I can't! Okay, I can't right now. Things are spiraling, and they think I'm their future daughter and sister-in-law, and they like me right now, Stefan. I mean...that's something that people spend years trying to make happen with the families they're marrying into."

"You're not marrying into them! You're entire relationship with Elijah is based on a fib in the heat of the moment."

She stared at him. "Yeah. But they don't know that."

Stefan sighed as the elevator chimed, the doors sliding open to reveal the lobby. "They have doctors for this kind of thing, Caroline." He shook his head as he stomped out of the lift, sliding his sunglasses out of his pocket and onto his face.

Caroline looked after him, blowing out a breath before hurrying after him.

He was right.

She was so fucked.

**xxxxx**

**Poor Stefan. **

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